Director Petersen Vargas with Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia Photo by Judy Arias

'It felt like it was meant to be,' director Petersen Vargas quipped, amazed by how everything fell into place with his latest project, Star Cinema and Viva Films' Un/Happy for You.

It's always been Petersen's dream to work with Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, who made a mark in the industry together as 'JoshLia.' He's worked with them in some shoots before, but at the time, not yet in a movie that he helms. 'I was a bystander to their celebrity stardom before, and I'm such a big fan,' he declared.

Petersen directed Star Cinema movies An Inconvenient Love and A Very Good Girl, which are big-screen projects that further established him in the entertainment industry. He feels fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with Donny Pangilinan, Belle Mariano, Kathryn Bernardo, and Dolly de Leon in the said movies. Then he thought, ''Sino ang gusto kong maka-work next after those experiences?' And it was really them.'

Timing is important, and Joshua, in particular, couldn't agree more. In an interview with Metro.Style, the actor revealed that a reunion project was pitched to him and Julia before, but he felt there was a better time for it. This is just proof that things happen for a reason, because had they decided to push through with it, this project may not have seen the light of day or landed in Petersen's lap.

As this was the first time Petersen worked with JoshLia to this extent, admittedly, he was scared at first. 'I'm usually scared when I'm a big fan of the actors I'm going to work with,' he explained. To better prepare for his project with them, he even talked with Antoinette Jadaone一one of his idols and closest friends in the industry who worked with Joshua and Julia in the film Love You to the Stars and Back一and asked her about the dynamic and working styles of these artists.

But as it turned out, he didn't have to worry about whether he'd get along with them or deal with tension or friction on the set with real-life exes as the lead stars. 'During our look test, I was so surprised, like the first five seconds, all my worries and fears disappeared,' Petersen remarked. He admitted he was intimidated by Julia's presence but was pleasantly surprised to discover she's someone he can joke around with. Joshua's being 'chill, calm, and very collected,' on the other hand, was such a breath of fresh air.

His thought at the time? ''How are they this friendly, endearing, and chill?' I think the right word is 'chill' to each other.'

Julia will be the first to say, however, that they didn't always have the best and most perfect attitude or energy on the set. So she and Joshua appreciated how Petersen was so understanding and collaborative.

'Collaborative' is also the perfect word to sum up what Petersen observed about JoshLia at work. Although Joshua and Julia have different personalities and energies on the set, what's common about the two is their commitment to creating not just good but great scenes. 'We were always like we won't stop until we feel great about the scene,' the Un/Happy for You director shared.

'They made my job easy,' Petersen added. Revisions during filming are a given, but they weren't that big of a deal because JoshLia always arrived on the set 'super prepared.' As thinking actors, Joshua and Julia have their own approaches to the scenes and understanding of their characters, so they were generous with sharing their ideas to enhance every scene.

'I think what's special about this project is that they agreed to do it and we know their history. And so watching it feels like you're watching, like, two planes of reality, one of which is the reality of the film and the other is the reality of JoshLia,' Petersen pointed out. ''Yun 'yung kirot niya e. Of course, you'll get hurt by what happens to the characters but there's also this pain and longing… It's not sadness but more of, like, this very emotionally satisfying journey to see them experience that through a film.'

He added, laughing, 'So there was this feeling na ang meta nu'ng ginagawa namin.'

Is it Joshua and Julia's story? Or is it Juancho and Zy's story? That's what's more exciting to discover in the film, especially with the way their term of endearment before, 'Ba,' was integrated into the script. 'Meron kaming parang goal na sana umiyak sila kasi ang honest and ang heartfelt ng ginawa namin sa Un/Happy for You. So parang, alam mo 'yun, there's this base emotion and hopefully we can communicate that in the theatrical experience,' Petersen shared.

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When asked about the challenges they encountered while filming Un/Happy for You, Petersen couldn't quite put his finger on such experiences. 'Of course, the worry was…,' he paused to think of his answer until he finally proceeded. 'Well, alam mo, wala kasi talaga. Parang ang saya-saya kasi namin on set. Of course, the challenges were umulan lang and then we couldn't finish on the day. It's just that.'

Sure, we've seen many movies about breakups, but a unique aspect of Un/Happy for You that makes it more interesting is that the lead stars are real-life exes. 'That's such a big commitment to do and such bravery to offer yourselves for this story,' Petersen concluded, praising the passion and dedication of Joshua and Julia in making their comeback project memorable and successful.

Lead photos from @awarewolves

Interview by Janelle Paraiso

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